Dwelling On Carbon will be installing rain gardens and simple greywater systems for locations that can benefit from these but lack funding – such as churches, women’s shelters and schools. These projects will be funded by volunteer labor and grants. The rain gardens will serve to infiltrate rainwater onsite and grow native landscapes and fruit trees. These rain gardens will provide multiple benefits: keep stormwater onsite to prevent damage to downstream beaches and waterways, conserve water for irrigation, cool the urban heat island with plant evapotranspiration, provide pollinator habitat for native bees, biodiversity, and potentially growing food. We plan to develop neighborhood programs in which one household per block is trained to lead others on rain garden installation for their neighbors – to have a wider impact on local climate.
Dwelling On Carbon will be installing simple greywater systems for saving water and growing edible landscapes and cooling neighborhoods with shade and evapotranspiration. Our work will include educational signage and training with DIY resources so these practices can be implemented widely.
Polyculture or “rewilded” lawns are produced by overseeding existing turf lawns with seeds from up to 30 different species of perennials, annuals, and native grasses. Unlike typical lawn conversions which require a lot of labor to cut out existing turf and prevent it from reseeding, polyculture or rewilded lawn conversions work with the existing turf. The basic steps for polyculture lawn conversion include cutting the existing turf to 2” and using dethatching and aeration to prepare the soil for the new seeds, which are applied in a layer of compost. Once the new species have germinated, the water requirements for the polyculture lawn will decrease substantially with the bulk of species having low to moderate water needs. Polyculture lawns are a fairly simple approach to providing many needed ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, cooling the urban heat island, pollinator habit, biodiversity, and building soil health.
Biological carbon sequestration happens when atmospheric carbon dioxide is stored in the natural environment, including forests, grasslands, soil, and oceans. The process starts with photosynthesis; in which plants draw in carbon dioxide and water, and utilizing energy from sunlight, produce organic compounds that are incorporated into plant biomass. These carbon compounds are incorporated into all of the plant structures including stalks, roots, trunks of trees, and fruits/seeds. Plants also release carbon compounds in exudates through their roots. Soil organic carbon includes these exudates as well as residues from the decomposition of dead plants and animals, and living and dead soil microorganisms. Grasslands (including lawns) offer a distinct advantage over forests for carbon sequestration especially in our wildfire prone areas. Most of the carbon in forests is stored in their trunks and therefore released back into the atmosphere when the trees burn down. In grasslands, most of the carbon is in the plant roots and in the soil — where it is unaffected by fire on the surface. Carbon sequestration in urban landscapes is an overlooked resource given the many acres of urban yards that could be planted using regenerative practices. Expanding the planting in urban landscapes also provides many other benefits including cooling the urban heat island, biodiversity, pollinator habitat, and water conservation.
Our DIY rewilding kit provides everything you need to create a stunning, biodiverse oasis that's good for you, good for the planet, and bursting with life.
Benefits of rewilding your yard:
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